I've been back a couple of days but I've only just got around to writing an update. The news advised against travel later on the 23rd - I figured my train (Reading to Paddington, then on to Euston to depart for the North at 13:30) would be OK, and I didn't have many other options anyway. Although it was about 45 minutes late by the time I arrived at Oxenholme, I've had worse journeys.

This year, it was the first time I was cooking Christmas Dinner, although Dad had bought most of the essentials beforehand and it was just a turkey crown, not a whole bird. We did the roast potatoes à la Heston - parboiling them for more like 20 minutes than the usual 10, which I think worked quite well. On Boxing Day we had been invited over for a meal with Dad's friends, and we had a very nice roast lamb meal.

Doctor Who was a bit of a let-down; I really enjoyed The Day of the Doctor and perhaps it was inevitable that The Time of the Doctor would be a step downwards. There were some good ideas - I liked Handles, the linking of the crack with the Time Lords, and the resolution of the regenerations issue - but the rest was a bit disconnected and random. To be fair, Christmas specials have never been the high point.

The storms returned late on Boxing Day and by Friday morning, once again there were warnings not to travel. There were speed restrictions between Carlisle and Preston, so my train was already about 50 minutes late when I joined it, and closer to 2 hours late by the time we got to London. Certainly I could see many swollen rivers and improvised ponds as we journeyed down (as well as quite a few traffic jams on the motorways). I could have done without the family brat being fussed over and taking forever to disembark - or not - at Reading, but I caught the bus even though it was waiting at the station.

Once home there's no sign of any damage or power disruption, so I think I've been lucky so far.